Cursed by Malignant Magic (Once Upon A Curse)

Chapter 25

Chapter

Twenty-Five

I t didn't take long for me to heal, although I doubted that my time with Legacy had helped with that any. True, it had been an extremely pleasant experience, and I was not at all upset with the time I had spent with her, nor was I against doing it again soon, but it had certainly tired me out.

We moved in silence, companionable and smooth. That was something that had changed of late as well, where we were so comfortable with one another that it no longer mattered that we didn't speak for hours on end. Nearly as soon as I could stand on my own, Legacy and I were on our way again, still with not much of a plan, but we were working on it, at least.

What little bit of a plan we did have consisted of returning to Ehuna's camp and me sneaking inside so I could warn her about Tannin and the other advisors.

Yes, Ehuna had held me captive, but with all that had been happening lately, it seemed like that wasn't the deal-breaker that it could have been for me. After all, Legacy had kidnapped me twice already, and I'd done far more with her than I ever had with Ehuna.

How strange had my life become that kidnapping was something I could just let go of, as if it had never happened?

I shook my head with a snort, but although Legacy glanced over at me and raised her eyebrows, she didn't seem inclined to ask me what I thought was so funny. Nor did I feel like it was something I could explain without her thinking I was crazy. So I just shrugged and kept walking.

Likely that would continue to be the case since we still had a lot of time to go before we arrived back at Ehuna's fortress, and we would do better to hide and watch for a while before I tried to approach her. No doubt she wouldn't exactly be super excited that I had escaped in the first place, but I figured we could get past that if I could get her to understand everything that was going on. It might take a while, but I was at least relatively confident I could manage that.

On our way there, I knew something was wrong long before it ever came into sight. Smoke curled into the air in a tall, black plume, and I was already running before I realized my mind had made a decision.

Legacy followed hot on my heels. When I suddenly stopped, she ran into me. I grunted, but her arms wrapped around me to steady me.

“What happened?” I whispered, the sound nearly inaudible with my fingers pressed against my lips.

This fortress had been full of people I knew, had maybe even served with, and now they were all gone. I didn’t see a single soul.

Legacy stepped closer so her shoulder brushed against my back, and she touched a stone pillar on one side of the path that led to the front gate. “There are survivors.”

Relief flooded me, so powerful I might have fallen if not for Legacy’s steadying presence behind me. She had that strange look in her eyes, the one that told me she had either had a vision or was currently having one.

With that in mind, I stayed quiet, although I was bursting to ask her what exactly she had seen. Finally, she blinked a few times, her hand squeezing my shoulder as if she needed my support. I turned slightly, my hand closing over hers without thinking. My cheeks warmed a bit, but I didn't let go. She had supported me, and I could do the same for her.

"What did you see?" I asked softly.

She swayed a little, and I lifted my free hand to her elbow, backing up and pulling her with me so I could help her sit. As much as I was itching to find out what had happened to the Caputo fortress and Ehuna, right now Legacy needed all of my focus.

She took a deep breath then nodded slowly. "There are survivors. I think I can find them. If that's what you want."

I nodded after only the slightest bit of hesitation. We had come here to find Ehuna, and that hadn't changed. If anything, it was even more important to find her now and make sure that she was safe. Even if she did think I was a traitor.

Legacy forced herself to her feet, leaning on me for support. Her weight made me strain, but soon enough, she stood fully on her own, already moving. I followed closely in case she stumbled, but she seemed much steadier now.

We strode closer to the front gate, eerie silence thickening the air.

It didn't take long for us to find the survivors. Or rather, we found each other at the same time.

I froze as an arrow buried itself between my feet. My leg gave a painful twinge, as if to remind me of the last arrow I had dealt with, not that I needed one.

I raised my hands slowly, trying to pull magic to the surface. "We mean no harm," I called.

I couldn't see anyone in particular, just the outline of dark shapes in the trees on either side of the path, so I spoke generally into the air in the hopes that they could hear me. No more arrows, so they probably had.

"Wait," a voice ordered, and my shoulders slumped with relief, my hands lowering slightly.

I knew that voice. I would know it anywhere.

Ehuna stepped out of the trees, motioning behind her. A few of the other survivors stepped out, all of them moving slowly and fearfully. Some of them were injured badly, while others seemed to be mostly healthy, with only a few scratches and bruises.

Ehuna didn't even bother to ask what we were doing here, nor did she seem inclined to recapture me. She turned a wary glare on Legacy, but she didn't ask who she was or comment on her presence here.

I followed her back toward the trees, and we all sat on a boulder, watching the other soldiers retreat into the forest. Some of them were on guard duty, others setting up a makeshift camp, but they all gave us plenty of room to have our conversation in private. Or at least as much privacy as an open space like this could afford.

"So, they're after you," Ehuna said.

I whipped toward her. I had expected that we would have to work to convince her that we meant her no harm, that we would have to explain who was after us and why, but apparently she knew more than we had given her credit for.

"You know?" I asked.

"Yes. People I know from both sides," she explained. “Including Tannin, my commander.”

My jaw dropped because she already knew so much. Legacy cocked her eyebrows.

"They thought I helped you escape,” Ehuna continued. “That's why they came after us."

"I'm sorry," I said.

It didn't feel like enough, but what else could I say?

Ehuna nodded. "I know you didn't mean for this to happen. I've known you long enough to know that you would never do this intentionally. But you have to know that you can't stay with us."

Legacy stiffened next to me. "What makes you think we planned to stay with you?" she demanded.

I leaned against her slightly, just enough to keep her from moving against Ehuna. We were all keyed up, and no one else needed to get hurt because of this.

"I don't know what your plans are, and I don't want to know,” Ehuna said. “I have to take the survivors to another Caputo fortress and report what happened here. Whatever you two are doing, I wish you luck, but you're on your own."

She stood and walked away.

All those years together, and she was just leaving me here to deal with this on my own? Was it because she didn’t trust Legacy, our enemy?

Legacy’s knuckles brushed the back of my hand, and I wound my fingers through hers, sitting with her in silence. We were on our own, but we had been this whole time. Of all the people I had encountered, Legacy was the only one who hadn’t abandoned me and who I thought I could trust.

But was I making a mistake? Was she still my enemy, and I was too blinded by the burn in my heart to notice?

My doubts festered, and all the while, I swore I could feel the penetrating stare of beady eyes bearing down on me from above the treetops.